Customer Reviews

Hop Jump

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

What a great book for children! Not only is it a well written story with a message that all children can relate to, the pictures are enchanting! --A great extension activity for this book, if you teach, is to have the children use wallpaper samples or wrapping paper to write and illustrate their own version of this story. You may even want to encourage them to turn the story into a play and act it out! I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS BOOK!

O.K., I will concede that my first rugrat loved this book. and my second rat loves it presently. But, (and you probably guessed that a "but" was comin') something always bothered me about this book. It's a combination of things- it copies Leo Lionni's style a little too much for me, colors are bland, the paper collage setup doesn't grab ya, and the storyline is just a little confusing when you really get down and analyze it...Betsy is tired of the same hopfest in general. Betsy gets slightly miffed when the frogs hop into her beginning dance scene, so they counterattack by stating that there is no room for dancin', then Betsy leaves to find an area "for dancing only". Her fellow amphibians then come to check out her moves, then they begin to dance. One dude just wants to hop as opposed to dancing, and the newest dance club members tell him to scram, until Betsy affirms that there is room for both getting footloose and hopping. I know that the text is supposed to send a message of freedom of expression both spiritually and physically, but it feels like Betsy is the original antagonist; that she has a problem with the frogs love of boring, old hopping. It just seems that she is projecting her boredom onto her homies, and then looks down upon them because they have no pizzazz. In other words: how free is Betsy, anyway, until she saves the day at the end of the book? (You could say that Betsy learns a lesson as well, but I just don't get the vibe from Walsh that Betsy needs it.) A positive- text is great in both size, length, and readability for young ones learning to read or just listening. Yeah, yeah, I know I am a downer...but I love to express myself freely! Gotta go- I have a dancing lesson...I just love punk pits!

My toddler son really enjoys this book. The illustrations are simple (in a good way) and the moral about finding one's individuality as well as accepting other's sense of self sets this book above some of the drivel out there.

I love Ellen Stolle Walsh books! This one has clever cut-out illustrations and a nice message about trying different things and group acceptance. Children love the large print and the fun repetitions.

Fun and humorous! Betsy the independing-thinking frog wants to try something different. Shows a female character with leadership skills: getting all the other frogs to try dancing. Very minimal text per page, and fairly short overall so easy to hold a toddler's attention. Beautiful Leo Leonni-style artwork. Age 1.5+

Teaching children that they don't always have to follow suit, instead of just hopping and jumping, they can dance and twirl to their own tune. My youngest daughter lists this as one of her three favorite books and I certainly see why.

I can probably be forgiven for confusing Ellen Stoll Walsh with fellow children's author/illustrator Denise Fleming. Both artists use remarkably original cut-outish designs to present stories of highly creative animals. Both have also used mice in a great many of their books. I was under the impression however that I'd never read a Walsh story, until I remembered her delightful "Mouse Paint" from a couple years ago. In that story, Walsh used otherwise unemotional rodentia to tell a clever tale of camouflage and colors. "Hop Jump" is not particularly dissimilar from "Mouse Paint" at first glance. The characters never show much in the way of emotion. Just the same, Walsh has a way of positioning her characters bodies and phrasing their thoughts so as to make you think that their otherwise blank faces express a wide range of intentions and meanings. The result is a delightful little tale of frogs, dancing, and diversity.

Betsy is bored to death with her compatriots. No matter where they go, the other frogs go "Hop jump, hop jump". They never change their style. When she watches the pattern of falling leaves she attempts to imitate their movements. Betsy cannot float gently to the ground, but she can leap, turn, twist, and dance. Of course, the other frogs crowd her and inform her that there is no room for dancing. When she goes off to find her own dancing ground, her fellows are intrigued and eventually join her. The moment of truth comes when one other frog wants to hop and jump in the newly formed dancing circle. The others try to tell him that there is no room for hopping. Betsy contradicts them, however, and says, "Oh yes, there's room. For dancing and for hopping".

Walsh creates a variety of frogs that look similar at first but carry distinguishing characteristics. Some have yellow spotted green bodies with green spotted yellow arms. Others have purple spotted green bodies with yellow spotted green arms. Betsy, so that the reader can tell her apart from the others, is the sole blue frog amongst them. They all have benign expressions and wide orange eyes, though. Using a minimal amount of arms and legs and bodies, Walsh coaxes a great deal of expressive movements out of these otherwise limited figures. The message the story contains is a simple one and the pictures are just as easy to understand. The words are also particularly short and good for those kids attempting to read their first picture book on their own.

Cut-out picture books normally conjure images of Eric Carle. I wish, rather, that images of Ellen Stoll Walsh were conjured instead. "Hop Jump" is just one more well-written beautifully illustrated book of hers that tells a story with simplicity and aplomb. An excellent companion to Leo Lionni's, "Fish Is Fish".

This is an excellent choice for kindergarten teachers that are looking for a book that is simple in its vocabulary and number of words per page, yet rich with meaning and personal connections for children.